Dear Editor,
Many people come from far and away to enjoy their peppersteak
sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms offered at the Gilroy Garlic
Festival, but for the locals it is much more than this.
Dear Editor,
Many people come from far and away to enjoy their peppersteak sandwiches and stuffed mushrooms offered at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, but for the locals it is much more than this.
For people born and raised in Gilroy, the Garlic Festival is reflective of the tradition and nostalgia it presents. The promise of seeing old classmates and ex-boyfriends is ever present, dancing to Sha-boom, eating calamari and garlic bread are all traditions we, as locals, cherish year in and year out.
That said, with the good traditions come the bad. We Gilroyans have come to expect traffic, long lines, trash, heat and rising prices. But a new tradition my lifelong friends and I have noticed this year was a lack in portions coincided with the rise in price.
A $12 combo plate, which used to be more than enough food, left us all hungry. The three shrimp scampi, five mushrooms and a third of a peppersteak sandwich just were not enough food for the price we had to pay. The size of the portions for calamari and mushrooms are smaller than a sample size at Costco, and that’s free! As I sat near Gourmet Alley eating with my friends, I heard many people I did not know complaining about the same thing.
Also, what is up with the Penne con Pesto? The Pasta con Pesto was unlike anything you could have ever dreamed of making a home or buying in a restaurant, and now it’s just penne with some green sauce? After one bite, I was sorry I had made the purchase.
Bottom line: don’t reinvent the wheel. Gilroyans love tradition and it is unfortunate the Garlic Festival Committee is not making sure festival goers are getting their moneys worth. I have accepted the fact that I am going to go broke at the festival every year, but please do not insult our stomach-sense. If raising the prices is a tradition, then keeping the food portions the same should be as well.
Sarah Caudle,
former Gilroyan now living in San Jose
